Vitam Aeternam
by dearmaggie
Summary: "It would be a cold day in hell the day Charlie Frasier fell in love with Fred Weasley." Spanning across their Hogwarts years until the Final Battle, two people must fight against the mounting war in the Wizarding World and overcome their internal struggles in order to defend their beliefs and save the ones they love. FRED/OC
1. Prologue

**Chapter 1. Prologue**

**The Final Battle at Hogwarts**

"_AVADA KEDAVRA!_"

Charlotte wheeled to the side just in time to miss the deadly green jet of light whirling at her. She shot a curse back, unfortunately missing the Death Eater she vaguely recognized as Thorfinn Rowle. He sneered and once again fired the killing curse. She flung herself on the ground barely dodging the spell before being hit with _Crucio_.

Her screams filled the air as inscrutable pain shot through her body, arching off the ground and giving Rowle a clear view of her stomach. His eyes narrowed before he erupted in cruel laughter, the sound tangling with her pained shrieks.

Just as soon as it had begun, the pain stopped, though tremors continued to wrack her body while she struggled to catch her breath, as he spoke again, taunting her. "Carrying a filthy blood traitor's child? I'll enjoy getting rid of this bastard spawn."

He raised his wand to kill her, but a high-pitched, cold voice interrupted. It reverberated through her from her ears to her feet, making her toes curl instinctively.

"You have fought valiantly," the voice said. "Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen."

"Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."

Charlotte dared a glance up from her position on the floor expecting to see Rowle, but he had already gone. She breathed a shaky sigh of relief until Voldemort's words echoed through her head.

Oh God. Fred.

Was he alright?

Was he hurt?

Was he de – No, she couldn't finish that thought. This was Fred, after all. He would be fine.

But what if he wasn't?

No, of course he would be. He promised.

'_But he wouldn't intentionally get killed, would he? It would be an accident.'_ A pesky voice in her head pointed out. She tried to clear her head of those thoughts and pay attention to the personification of evil, Voldemort himself.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest."

"If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

She slowly sat up, every fiber of her being screaming in protest. She did her best to ignore the pain, though. Fred was somewhere in this godforsaken castle, and she needed to see him, needed to know that he was alive.

Limping slowly down the hallway towards the Great Hall as post-Cruciatus tremors shook her core, she made sure to not trip on any stone rubble scattered from the explosions. Shards of glass and other debris littered the ground, some walls were half blasted away, and there was what looked suspiciously like blood smeared on multiple surfaces.

She pushed the doors to the Great Hall open and took a breath before walking in. Her heart was racing as her eyes glanced frantically across the room, checking the faces on gurneys and stretchers for any hint of familiarity.

She made it about fifteen feet before she saw the characteristic red hair that she had grown to love. Her stomach lurched, no. The family was huddled together around someone, weeping. They didn't notice her there, standing frozen across the room staring at them. She stood there for a minute, hoping that if she stood there long enough somehow it wouldn't be real, but Arthur saw her and beckoned her over, his blue eyes heartbroken and .. apologetic.

_Please, God. Let it not be him. _

She started walking, her pace picking up until she was running to them. They moved apart, confirming her worst fears.

Fred laid there, his blue eyes still open but no longer containing the mischief and life she had come to associate with him. The corners of his mouth were turned up as if laughing at a funny joke.

But this was not funny. He promised her. He said he would be there, that he would stay safe, that he would return to her.

The lump that had formed in her throat grew bigger as her legs finally collapsed from under her. The tears came after. She cradled him, bundled him up in her arms, before rocking back and forth, sobs that sounded as if they were being wrenched out of her very soul echoing off the high ceilings.

Eventually her sobs died down and were replaced by murmurs of love and questions of why. She felt vaguely that she was falling off a cliff, hurtling towards insanity most likely. She couldn't think straight, everything was a jumbled mess, but somewhere in the fog, she remembered something, a meeting with Dumbledore almost forgotten.

It had been right after graduation, summer was in full bloom, and his words had confused her at the time. They were so cryptic and made absolute no sense, but now she understood. It took two years, but now she understood what he was trying to tell her.

Her breaths came faster as she struggled to stand again, adrenaline pumping through her veins with her realization. She kneeled next to Fred one last time and kissed his forehead.

"You're not leaving so soon. You promised. You _are_ going to live, dammit," she whispered before taking off in the direction of the Headmaster's office, not listening to the people who called after her.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I only want to put this up once. Copyright infringement not intended. Credit should go to the fabulous JK Rowling.**


	2. A Cold Day in Hogsmeade

**Chapter 2.**

**A Cold Day in Hogsmeade**

**12 October 1993.**

Her winter scarf whipped around her face as she walked back from Hogsmeade alone. She knew it wasn't particularly safe - more like specifically not allowed - for her to be out alone with Sirius Black on the loose and Dementors guarding the grounds, but Charlie couldn't find it in herself to care. Her best friends had ditched her for their significant others, and her significant other had dumped her for another girl.

She fought the furious tears that threatened to fall. The break up had blindsided her completely, only making the humiliation worse. It had been a lovely day in Hogsmeade, they'd walked hand in hand as they toured through the tiny village before stopping at Madame Puddifoot's. It wasn't Charlie's cup of tea (no pun intended), but Daniel seemed to enjoy the garish decorations and couples snogging in the corners.

They'd sat down and he'd ordered two coffees for them before clasping her hands in his own and saying, "This has been a great five months for us-" she'd smiled and squeezed his hands as he continued, "But I think we should start seeing other people."

Her smile quickly slid off her face as she processed his words. Flitting through the past five months, she was at a loss for his abrupt break up. They'd been doing fine, brilliantly in fact, nothing for him to want to 'see other people' as he so eloquently put it.

Unless he was already seeing other people.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she responded, "I don't understand. We've been so happy. Is... Is there someone else?"

He avoided eye contact, instead staring at the coffee which had been placed between them. That was enough for her to know.

She'd stood up and walked to the door without a second word or glance back. Stepping out into the street, she scanned the road for faces before spotting her two closest friends together.

"Lizzie! Susan! Hey, wait up!" she'd called as she ran over to them. Both were in Ravenclaw and had met Charlie in Charms third year when she'd accidentally knocked ink all over their notes.

The two girls stopped and turned around, confusion on both of their faces. "Why aren't you with Daniel? Didn't you have a date today?" Susan asked.

"We-we broke up," her voice cracked slightly as fresh tears pricked her eyes.

Lizzie gasped and said, "That's terrible! I'm so sorry. I thought you two were so cute together."

"Apparently not. I really just want to leave and hang out with you two. What do you say?" Susan and Lizzie shared guilty looks between them before saying, "We're so sorry, but we have a double date. Drew and Michael are supposed to be here any minute."

"Oh. Right. Go on then. Have fun. I'll just see you back the castle later then," she'd replied, plastering a fake smile on her face. She turned on her heel and walked away from them before they could protest.

The lonely trek back to Hogwarts seemed to take triple the normal amount of time. She'd decided to walk after seeing no carriages. The wind had intensified and she was wrapping her arms around her in a futile attempt to gain some warmth.

Absorbed in her thoughts about her recent break up (She thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be loyal. Daniel was the exception to the rule it seemed), she didn't notice the stump in front of her until she stumbled over it.

Bracing herself for the undoubtably hard fall sure to come, she was surprised when no impact came. Cautiously opening her eyes, she found herself face to face with Fred Weasley, the other half of the prankster duo otherwise known as the Weasley Twins and the man who had made it his life duty to pester her constantly.

She was so close she could easily count the number of freckles on his nose or the different shades of blue in his eyes. He seemed to be scrutinizing her similarly, staring into her brown eyes before lingering on her pink lips. _Too close, way too close_, she realized. "Erm. Thanks," she said, pulling herself out of his arms and effectively breaking him out of his trance.

"Hmm? Oh right. Yeah, no problem. You can make it up to me next Hogsmeade trip, yeah?" He grinned cockily at her while she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah? No. I think I'd rather throw myself at the Giant Squid." She cringed at the harsh words as she finished her walk back to the castle before remembering that this was Fred Weasley, the guy who had made her life a miserable hell for the past five years she had been at Hogwarts.

It had all started in the beginning of first year. She hadn't known anyone and so had shared a boat with him, George, and Lee. They had seemed nice, if not slightly obnoxious, until Fred somehow managed to knock her off of the boat and into the lake. She'd spent the next hour shivering and wet until Professor McGonagall had been able to cast a drying charm. She did get revenge, though. A week later, she hexed him with a new spell she'd learned which ended up giving him horns and giant buck teeth.

It didn't have quite the effect she'd been hoping for, unfortunately. Instead of screaming and crying and avoiding her, he had in fact done the opposite by laughing about it and following her around for the rest of the year.

Then of course, second year came, and if she was hoping that he'd forgotten her then she was sorely disappointed. He continued to follow her around and test different amounts of pranks on her. Once during Herbology, he'd yanked the end of her braid pulling off her earmuffs, which would have normally been fine except for the fact that they were on because the class was repotting the baby Mandrakes. She'd fainted and had to be taken to the Hospital Wing.

Third year had gone better, most likely due to the fact that she began to hang out with Lizzie, Susan, and the Ravenclaw house. He'd only pranked her occasionally and had stopped shadowing her every move. Fourth year, however, was downright miserable. Puberty had hit at some point over summertime, and almost overnight she'd gained curves and lost her baby fat. This fact didn't go unnoticed by Fred, who had previously taken to calling her Chipmunk in second year because of her chubby cheeks. He'd made a habit of asking her to Hogsmeade every other day to which she not-so-politely declined repeatedly. He wasn't fazed in the slightest and vowed that one day, they would get married and have a hundred little Weasley babies. She'd scoffed at the idea.

Now in her fifth year, Charlie had thought that a boyfriend would dissuade Fred from his stupid quest, but apparantly not. He'd continued to ask her out every day, the only difference being that sometimes Daniel would end up the center of a prank no doubt pulled by the twins and Lee.

_That wouldn't be a problem now, seeing that he dumped me less than an hour ago_, she thought sourly. Gossip spread faster than wildfire in Hogwarts, and it would only be a matter of time before everyone knew of her humiliation.

She muttered the password to the Fat Lady who turned up her nose at the lack of respect from youth these days before swinging open. Stepping inside, she sighed and made her way to the stairs leading up the Girl's Dormitory. She was desperately in need of chocolate and sleep after the long day she'd had.

"Oi, Frasier!" She paused on the third step before reluctantly turning around. Fred was smiling like an idiot as he said, "I heard you and Siebert are over. If you're ever in need of a rebound, don't hesitate to call me." Then, he winked. _He bloody winked_, the git.

She'd severely underestimated the time for news to spread. Gritting her teeth to bite back a retort, she continued up the stairs before collapsing on her bed and punching her pillow, relieving herself temporarily of the annoyance at a certain red-head.

It would be a cold day in hell the day Charlie Frasier fell in love with Fred Weasley.

* * *

**A/N: What do you think of the relationship between Charlie and Fred? I think it has a decidedly Lily/James quality. Let me know what you think and any suggestions you have.**

**And just a thank you to the people who reviewed, I appreciate it so much.**


	3. Bernice Hagsley

**Chapter 3.**

**Bernice Hagsley**

**14 October 1993.**

It had been a long weekend for Charlie.

Saturday had been spent crying in her bed until the wee hours of morning. She had skipped dinner, instead rummaging through her trunk to find her stash of Honeydukes chocolate to eat as a substitute, and had ignored her roommates' attempts to talk to her. After that, they had graciously let her be the rest of the day, only returning to the dorm to sleep. A part of her felt guilty for being so rude at their concern, but it was easily overshadowed by her feelings about the break-up. She simply couldn't understand why he had broken up with her. Yes, things had been somewhat rocky between them after not seeing each other over summer holiday, but she thought they had gotten past that considering it was now October. And sure, they didn't have an abundant amount of common interests and she often found herself tuning out when he talked, but there _was _something there. Or at least she had thought so. Consumed by these thoughts and listening to the snores of her roommates, she had fallen asleep.

Waking up on Sunday and trudging to the bathroom, she was acutely aware of her splotchy face and puffy eyes. Her roommates' eyes were full of pity and friendly concern, and she realized that she'd forgotten to cast a silencing charm on her bed so they had all heard every one of her tearful sobs. After a hot shower, she returned to the dormitory and huddled under her covers again. She didn't cry, much to her roommates' relief, but she refused to leave the room, not even for meals. As a result, one of the girls would bring a plate up from the Great Hall in hopes of her eating, which she reluctantly did, though only after Alicia Spinnet threatened to get Professor McGonagall. Charlie mused that the day was spent in meditation, much like those muggle monks in Tibet. Her discipline was severely lacking in comparison, but by nighttime, she had come to the conclusion that Daniel Siebert wasn't worth her time, and in all honesty, she was more upset by her wounded pride than him dumping her.

Though she had finally accepted the break-up, waking up on Monday, she had felt some trepidation in seeing everyone again and had toyed with the idea of staying in bed for another day, but her practicality won out and she had reluctantly gotten ready for the day. Taking extra time on her appearance - she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he had hurt her - she headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Everything, at first, had gone reasonably well. There was no sign of Daniel anywhere, and everyone carefully avoided the subject to instead talk about the third-year who had apparently gotten drunk on firewhiskey and thrown up all over Snape's robes Sunday evening after Professor Snape found him inexplicably taking off all of his clothes and was midway through giving him a detention. Needless to say, there were many jokes made about the Professor's hygeine and Ravenclaw was docked a hefty amount of points.

It was halfway through the meal that Charlie looked up from her plate only to see something that suddenly made her bacon not so appetizing. Seated at the end of the Hufflepuff table surrounded by fellow fifth years and perched on the lap of one Mr. Daniel Siebert was Bernice Hagsley.

Jealousy and rage clawed at Charlie, and she had the distinct urge to strangle the girl. Bernice sat there, oblivious to the hate directed at her, flipping her hair and giggling like a simpering moron. Charlie grit her teeth, desperately trying to maintain control. Though she claimed that she was over him, it still tugged at her that he had already moved on so quickly and with Bernice Hagsley of all people.

Before that morning, Charlie would've said that she was a nice girl, very friendly if not a tad boring. That was not the reason she was shocked at seeing them together. No, she was shocked and angry because Daniel had always used to tease and annoy Bernice, mostly on account of her dreadful name, and Charlie had defended her. Now she wished she hadn't.

She was deep in thought, contemplating the pros and cons of 'accidentally' stabbing Bernice's eyes out, when a person cleared their throat.

"Are you alright?" Charlie looked up to see George Weasley staring at her concerned and slightly nervous. She realized that her fork still wavered in the air where she had been midbite and that her fingers were white from gripping the utensil too hard.

Exhaling slowly and pushing the plate from her, she greeted him and said, "I'm fine, a bit surprised is all. They make a cute couple." She tried to smile but only managed a slight grimace. It hurt because Bernice, appearance wise, was the exact opposite of herself. Charlie was average height with dark blonde, curly hair while Bernice had legs that seemed to stretch on for miles and straight black hair that flowed down her back. It only solidified the fact that Daniel had completely moved on.

"You're a horrid liar, do you know that?" She smiled slightly, and he grinned in response. George was the complete opposite of his prat twin. While Fred was passionate and reckless, George was quieter and more cautious, though they both shared a healthy love of pranking. Charlie wished they were better friends, but unfortunately ninety percent of the time, George was with -

"Yeah, the left corner of your mouth twitches, and you wring your hands together. It's quite cute, you know." Ah yes, speak of the devil. Her smile was replaced by a frown as Fred slid into the seat across from her.

"Hello, Weasley," she greated coolly.

"Miss Frasier, you wound me with your hostility," Fred pouted at her. "And after all I've done for you, too." She furrowed her brow, confused, until a girlish shriek echoed through the Hall. She searched for the source of the noise only to find Daniel jumping about, his arms flailing, as his skin broke out in boils.

Narrowing her eyes, she stood up abruptly and yelled at him. "You're such an immature prat, Fred Weasley! What do you think you're doing, hexing him like that?! You - You're just so ... ERGH!" He watched her with wide eyes as she turned on her heel and stormed off to her first class.

His brother sighed at him. "Why do you do things to deliberately upset her?"

His head whipped around to stare at George incredulously. "The guy was being a jerk! I was only trying to help!" George opened his mouth to lecture again, but was cut off by an angry McGonagall.

"DETENTION!" she shouted. "Two weeks, Mr. Weasley. And twenty points from Gryffindor."

"You really have a way with the ladies," his twin smirked.

"Shut up."

* * *

**31 October 1993.**

"I'M FREEEEEE!" Fred yelled out in relief.

He had finally finished his last detention. It had been a miserable two weeks cleaning toilets under Filch's watch, and Charlie had studiously avoided him at all costs. It was disheartening, to say the least, but he enjoyed a challenge.

Walking back to the Gryffindor common room, he caught a familiar glimpse of curly blonde hair and grinned to himself. Lengthening his strides, he easily caught up to her.

"Fancy seeing you here, Charlie."

She glared at him and hissed, "It's Frasier to you, Weasley."

"Why so cold, love? Surely we're closer than that," he grinned cheekily as he swung an arm over her shoulder.

"I'm not your _love_. And seeing as I hate you, I'd prefer if you sod off and bother someone else." She shrugged his arm off and his smile faltered slightly, but he stayed nonetheless.

"So much cheek from someone out of bed after curfew, don't you think? Now why, pray tell, is the saintly Miss Frasier breaking rules tonight?" His grin widened as her cheeks flamed a delicious rose color.

"That-that really is none of your business, Weasley."

"You might want to keep your voice down, love. Filch could be anywhere." As if summoned on command, footsteps echoed down the hall. Fred mumbled a curse and grabbed her hand, dragging her in the opposite direction of the sound.

He pulled her through secret passages, hidden shortcuts, up different staircases, down concealed corridors to evade Filch and his cat. Charlie's legs burned from the physical exertion and her breath came out in halted puffs. Fred looked unfazed, though, and she cursed him for his physical stamina, no doubt from quidditch practices.

Just when she thought that she couldn't take another step, he pushed them behind a statue. Her back hit a wall and she gasped from the contact of cold stone. He put a finger to her lips and silently begged her to be quiet.

"Where are they, my sweet? Did they go down this way?" They heard an answering meow farther down the way, and she waited until Filch's footsteps died out before she released her breath.

She tried to move, but Fred stopped her, saying, "Wait, he'll come back. He always does."

She became distinctly aware of how close they were, and she couldn't help but think that those quidditch practices had done him good. She turned slightly pink at the thought and was immensely grateful for the dim lighting. What was she thinking, anyway? This was the man who had annoyed and embarrassed her for five years. He was _not _good looking, and that crooked smile was not in the least endearing.

Against her better judgement, she looked up at him and was enraptured by his blue eyed gaze. Her heartbeat quickened as his eyes took in her figure. As if separate from her own body, her hand reached out and brushed over a white scar on the underside of his jaw. She felt his breath catch in his throat, and he leaned into her touch.

Her senses were on overdrive with his close proximity. She could smell the sandalwood aftershave, the mint of his toothpaste, and something she couldn't quite define. Her body felt awakened, and she wet her lips, wondering when it had become so hot. His eyes darkened as he leaned in close.

Her head was spinning, and she couldn't form a coherent thought. Any resistance and her common sense flew out the window as her eyes fluttered close. Her hands, as if on their own accord, wrapped around his neck, her fingers playing with the hair on the back of his neck. His own hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her close, before closing the remaining distance between them.

As their lips met, she felt as if the world had tilted on its own axis. Fireworks were exploding on the inside of her eyelids, and the background seemed to melt away, leaving only her and Fred. Wait, Fred. Just as quickly as it had left her, her sensibility came back, and she tore away from him. Taking advantage of his dumbfounded state, she moved past him and ran to the common room, shocked at her recent actions.

How could she have lost it like that? She hated Fred, hated him. She tried to rationalize her actions, blaming it on lack of sleep and stress, but somewhere deep down, she knew.

Charlie Frasier fancied Fred Weasley.

Shit.


	4. Tea Leaves and Quidditch

**Chapter 4.**

**Tea Leaves and Quidditch**

**3 November 1993.**

It had been four days since she and Fred had kissed and she'd had the unexpected revelation of maybe fancying him. Four days that Charlie had avoided Fred and taken to skipping meals and being late to class in hopes of minimizing chances of seeing him.

She knew he was looking for her. The whole bloody school knew, really. He had taken to stalking her friends and waiting at the bottom of the girls' dormitory trying to find her, but she wasn't ready to see him.

She was too confused about what she felt. For five years she had utterly loathed his existence, but now, she wasn't sure. Could a person hate and fancy someone at the same time? She didn't know, and frankly, she wasn't fond of the idea of liking Fred at all. He was an arrogant prat who never took anything seriously. The fact that she had vehemently turned him down for the past two years didn't help matters.

No, it simply wasn't possible, she decided. There was no way that she could actually fancy Fred Weasley. The night behind the statue was simply a fluke, an accident. With that thought, she headed off to Divination, a class she unfortunately shared with the boy who had been consuming her thoughts as of late.

Walking in and scanning the seats, she groaned as she saw that the only one left was next to Fred. Grumbling to herself, she sat in the chair and got out her supplies for the class.

"Today, my dears, we shall delve into tessomancy again," Professor Trelawney said as she emerged from her private rooms. Her eyes were magnified by the thick glasses resting on her face, and she was draped in an innumerable amount of gaudy shawls. "Get out the tea cups and begin. Oh and Hester," a brown-haired Ravenclaw's head shot up as she heard her name, "Ah. I see it now. Take a blue cup, please. I feel that you will drop yours before we end today, and I'm partial to the pink ones. That is all."

Fred poured tea into both of their cups, and Charlie watched silently as steam lifted off the surface of the liquid.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Her brown eyes met his before she averted her gaze upwards. He waited patiently before sighing.

"Are you really not going to talk to me?" She kept her eyes trained on the ceiling, pretending to not hear him.

"You know you can't ignore me forever. We both live in the same tower, and my charms are much too powerful to resist." She looked over at him and he grinned cheekily. She rolled her eyes in response.

"You are much too cocky for your own good."

"Cocky? I merely have a healthy sense of pride in my abilities. Now why have you been avoiding me?" She didn't answer his question, instead drinking her tea until there was just some black tea leaves at the bottom.

She furrowed her brow, glancing between the textbook and her tea cup, trying to discern what shapes the pile of black goop resembled. She settled on a bridge, a comet, and daisy after several minutes. Satisfied with her work thus far, she turned to Fred who was staring at the inside of his cup with an inscrutable expression on his face.

"Find the secrets to life in there?" she joked. He smiled slightly before turning back to his tea cup. His behavior confused her, but she shrugged it off, busying herself with translating the shapes.

"Do you hate me?"

It came out as a whisper, but she heard. Setting down her quill, she looked at Fred who had that unreadable expression again. Sighing, she said, "... No, I don't. Why?"

"I don't want you to hate me. I thought that maybe you did since you've been avoiding me." He looked back at his tea cup before tilting it towards her and asking, "What does this mean?"

She examined the contents of the cup for a while, confused at what she saw. Bridge, comet, and daisy. Normally she regarded Divination as a subject of coincidence, but the chance of him having identical tea leaves as hers was slim at best.

"I'm not really sure," she shrugged, hoping to appear nonchalant. He reached for her cup, grabbing it before she could stop him.

His brow knitted together. "Creepy. We have almost identical tea leaves, except right there," he pointed at a certain spot on the bottom of the glasses. "You have a violin, and I have ... a donkey. Huh."

"Maybe it's telling you that you're a jackass?" She laughed, and he soon joined in until they were both in hysterics.

Finally their laughter died down, and she wiped her eyes. "Why was that so funny?"

"I have no idea. Do you realize that this is the first conversation we've had that hasn't ended in you declaring you hate me?"

Charlie stiffened. He was right. Usually she couldn't stand his presence. What was happening to her?

He didn't seem to notice her change of demeanor and joked, "Are you sure you're not feeling sick?"

The room suddenly felt very stuffy, and her face turned ashen. Standing up, she said, "You're right. I am feeling a little ill. I think I'm going to go to the Hospital Wing," before she grabbed her things and fled from the room.

* * *

**5 November 1993.**

It was back to avoiding again.

After fleeing the room Thursday, Charlie had gone back to taking the long routes to class and sneaking into the kitchens for meals. She felt guilty knowing that Fred was probably confused by her behavior, hell even she didn't understand why she was hiding.

Luckily today she wouldn't have to do much to avoid him, she thought Saturday as she got ready. That day there was a Gryffindor v. Hufflepuff quidditch match, and Oliver Wood being the borderline clinically insane captain that he was insisted the team eat together. That meant that he couldn't talk to her at breakfast, and since she was missing the game, she probably wouldn't see him until at least dinner.

Six hours of no Fred Weasley. She could kiss him she was so happy, though that would probably be counterproductive.

She braided her curly blonde hair and put on a slate blue dress with a cardigan before walking down to breakfast. Practically skipping into the Great Hall, she sat down between Lizzie and Susan, who both looked at her strangely, at the Ravenclaw table. She understood their apprehension, after all she hadn't spoken to them in almost a month, but smiled politely and asked for Lizzie to pass the fruit.

"I'm terribly sorry for neglecting you guys these past few weeks; I've been really busy. How are you two?"

"Erm. It's fine. We're fine," Susan said, adjusting her glasses.

"How are Michael and Drew?" she asked.

Lizzie sucked in her breath sharply before replying in a clipped tone, "Drew and I broke up."

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't know. Are you alright?" Charlie asked. She felt embarrassed that she didn't know this news, considering that these two were her best friends.

"Been better, but I'll get over it. How have you been?"

Charlie thought for a second. So much had happened since they'd last spoken. "I'm good. Everything is a little complicated right now. Next Hogsmeade trip let's all hang out together, and I'll explain everything." They nodded in consent, and she ate the last bite of sausage before wiping her mouth and standing up. "I'll see you around, yeah?"

"Yeah. Don't be a stranger next time!" Susan called after her.

"I won't. Promise." She looked over at the Gryffindor table as she left the Hall, meeting Fred's eyes before turning away.

She walked quickly to the Library where she found her usual corner near the Restricted Section. She scattered her homework on the table and slipped on her horn rimmed glasses before starting.

She absentmindedly twirled a blonde curl around her finger as she flipped through _Unfogging the Future _trying to properly interpret the shapes she'd seen from Divination on Thursday.

Finally finding the page regarding tessomancy symbols, she sat up and read, her brown eyes widening at what she found.

_Bridge - a life-changing event or person._

_Comet - brink of pivotal change or dramatic event in your life._

_Daisy - new love._

_Violin - allow your feelings to surface._

Her mouth went dry. She could see the obvious connection between the shapes, and she didn't like it one bit.

Staring out the window willing herself to calm down, she was surprised to see how much time had passed and cursed aloud as she realized that she was already supposed to be at the Hospital Wing. Since the beginning of the year she had begun to volunteer there in an effort to bolter her resumé for a Healer apprenticeship. Abruptly scooting out her chair, she stuffed her books into her school bag and hurried up the stairs, skipping every couple steps.

The sterile smell of clean bandages and starched linen hit her nostrils immediately as she entered the Wing. "I'm sorry I'm late, Madame Pomfrey. I got distracted doing homework."

"No worries, deary. Can you crush some sprigs of lavendar for a sleeping draught?" Madame Pomfrey asked as she finished tending to an injured Harry who was already surrounded by flowers and get-well cards from friends.

Grabbing supplies from a cupboard, Charlie blurted out, "What happened to Harry?"

"Fell twenty feet off his broom after he encountered some Dementors." Charlie gasped at the news as Madame Pomfrey continued to mutter to herself about how dangerous quidditch was and 'the recklessness of students.'

After grinding lavendar with a mortar, she turned to ask if Madame Pomfrey needed anything else, but she just waved her off telling her to enjoy her youth while it lasted.

Walking out, she was startled to find Fred Weasley leaning casually against a stone pillar waiting for her. He grinned at her surprised expression.

"How did you know where I was?"

"I have my ways," he said, patting his pocket as if the answer lay within.

"Well that's great, but I really must be going."

"Running from me again? You can't do that forever, you know."

"Yes I can," she retorted.

He ignored her last statement and took a few steps toward her, lifting a hand to brush a few strands that had fallen out of her bun from her face. "Why are you running, anyway? Is it because this scares you?" He asked, though she was unsure whether he really wanted her answer or was simply musing to himself.

Her breath caught in her throat as his fingers grazed her bottom lip, and she unconsciously stepped closer until they were only a few inches apart. Struggling to ignore the butterfly feeling in her stomach, she said, "You could hardly scare me. I despise you, actually." The statement was hardly convincing, though, due to the breathy tone of her voice.

He caressed her face with both hands and closed the distance between them. "And now? Do you absolutely loath me still?"

"Of course."

Her head spun as he leaned in, his lips touching hers tenderly. She stood there, rigidly for a few moments, forcefully willing herself to not respond though the desire was great. Her inner battle waged before eventually her self-control crumbled. She sighed into the kiss and brought her hands up to bury themselves in his red hair.

She could feel him smile against her lips, and she pulled him closer in response. When the need to breathe became apparent they broke away, and he rested his forehead against hers.

"Something tells me you're not as indifferent as you appear," he whispered huskily. "Go out with me."

"Never." Charlie stepped away from him and began walking down the hall with as much dignity she could muster.

She felt like screaming. One kiss could be a fluke. Two, she wasn't as sure.

* * *

**A/N: Hello, lovelies! Could you please review? I haven't gotten very many responses, and I'm anxious to know what you think. Is their relationship progressing too quickly? I'm sorry for neglecting her other relationships. Next chapter I promise to develop those more.**

**Thank you to those who did review. They were much appreciated. Normally I wouldn't update so soon, but eh. It's almost Thanksgiving, and I might not have time to update for awhile. So here it is. Much love.**


	5. Mistletoe in the Hallways

**Chapter 5.**

**Mistletoe in the Hallways**

**30 November 1993.**

"Why are you staring at Fred?" Alicia whispered.

Charlie's head jerked up from its position resting on her hand as she blushed. She hadn't meant to stare; she'd merely been thinking. About him, yeah, but she wasn't about to admit to that.

They hadn't spoken since he'd kissed her outside the Hospital Wing. It was as if it had never happened, which she should have been happy about, but she wasn't and she didn't know why.

"I was _not _staring; I was just thinking about something," she hissed back.

"Oh." Alicia looked put-out for a moment before her expression turned into mischievous glee and she asked, "Why didn't you tell me you fancied him?"

"I DON'T!" Charlie screeched, her voice slightly squeaking at the end. The rest of their History of Magic class turned to look at the two of them and Charlie felt her face heat up at the attention.

"Miss Frasier. Is something wrong?" Professor Binns asked, staring blankly at her.

"I-uh just couldn't contain my excitement about the Giants War of 1127, sir," she supplied weakly as Alicia snickered quietly behind her hand.

Professor Binns opened his mouth as if to lecture her before thinking better of it and continued on with his lesson. "As I was saying, there were approximately 45 muggle casualties before the giants were quelled in ..."

Charlie diligently took notes as he droned on about the effects of the war, trying to ignore Alicia on her left.

_Poke._

She paused a second before resuming her notes.

_Poke._

Charlie grit her teeth, still not looking at Alicia.

_Poke. Poke. Poke._

"What?" she finally asked. Alicia just grinned and inclined her head towards Fred who, upon noticing the two girls' stares, gave Charlie a wink and a cheeky grin.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Alicia asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

"Why would you think that?" she asked, arranging her face into a look of serene innocence. Alicia just rolled her eyes.

"Do you really think I don't see that you're lying? Tell me."

The bell signaled the end of class, and Charlie began packing her bag as she said, "I can't say anything here," giving a pointed look at Fred. As soon as the words left her mouth, Alicia was pulling her out the door towards the Gryffindor common room.

Stumbling up the steps to the girls dormitory, Alicia pushed her into their room and sat at the end of her bed, waiting expectantly.

Sitting down next to her hesitantly, Charlie considered her words carefully before saying, "Fred kissed me." Yeah. That sounded good. Direct, but simple.

"Holy. SHIT. When did this happen? How did this happen? Are you guys together now? You two would be so cute together! Can I be your maid of honor at the wedding? Oh and just think about-"

"Why are you going on about weddings already?" Charlie asked, feeling more than slightly alarmed.

Alicia turned pink. "Sorry. Sometimes I get excited and forget my brain.. So what's happening now?"

"Nothing really." Alicia's hopeful face fell as she said that, and Charlie herself felt a twinge of hurt herself at the words.

_Wait, what? _No, no, no. She wasn't hurt because that would imply that she had felt something for him, and she did _not _feel anything but contempt for the man, even if he was devilishly handsome. '_Damn it, Charlie. Get yourself together_,' she berated herself. '_You're acting like some hormonal teenage girl_.' She decided to disregard the fact that she _was_ an adolescent female.

Charlie looked over at Alicia and realized that she'd been speaking the whole time. _Shit. I'm such a bad friend. _She nodded and made noises of agreement though she had no clue as to what Alicia was talking about. Fruit salad, maybe?

"-it doesn't mean anything. You fancying Fred? That would be the best joke I'd heard in a long time," Alicia laughed. "Well now that that's finished. Let's go eat dinner, yeah?" she asked, smoothing out her skirt as she stood. Charlie nodded stupidly again and made her way behind Alicia.

Alicia was right. Her liking Fred. That was impossible.

Charlie felt significantly lighter as she walked to the Great Hall, happy that she'd sorted out her feelings. _Or lack thereof_, she corrected herself.

* * *

**1 December 1993.**

"Charlie."

"Go away," she muttered, burrowing deeper into her sheets

"It's time to get up," the voice insisted.

"Too early. Come back later."

Someone hit her back with a pillow and said, "Don't even think about going back to sleep."

"Sorry, Charlie is not open for communication at this time. Come back tomorrow and try again."

The person laughed but didn't say anything more. Charlie relaxed into her bed and was about to drift off to sleep again when something heavy dropped on her.

Blearily opening one eye, she mumbled, "Ge'off me, Alicia. It's not even nine yet."

"But _Charlie_," Alicia whined. "You told me that I was, under no circumstance, supposed to wake you up early so you could eat breakfast before Hogsmeade."

"Oh, right. That's today," Charlie said as she sat up in bed. She smiled sheepishly at Alicia, "Thanks for waking me up. I'll buy you something at Honeydukes, alright?"

"Fine. Can you get me some sugar quills? I only have two left. Now hurry up and get ready," she said as she walked through the door. "Oh and watch out for mistletoe when you come down. There's some charm on it that freezes you in place until you kiss someone. Some pervy third year chased me around with it this morning already." Alicia shuddered at the memory and left to eat breakfast.

Throwing off the covers and standing up, Charlie quickly got ready, slipping on a grey dress and pulling on woolen stockings and boots. She threw on a navy scarf and coat before heading out the door, braiding her hair as she descended down the steps.

Entering the Great Hall, she understood why Alicia had warned her about the mistletoe. It was.. everywhere. Hanging from pillars, suspended above archways, the little green plant looked innocuous, but shouts of outrage from frozen students suggested otherwise. The only person who looked particularly gleeful was Professor Dumbledore, which only proved Charlie's theory from fourth year that he was some sort of closet sadist.

Neatly sidestepping a sprig hovering to her left, she slid into a seat next to Alicia and began piling food onto her plate.

They chatted between bites, talking about the OWLs that were slowly approaching and their plans for winter break. Alicia was going on a family trip to Italy while her father worked on ministry business.

"I plan on consuming at least double my weight in gelato while I'm over there," she said matter-of-factly. "By the time I get back, I will have happily gained fifty pounds at least." Charlie laughed at Alicia's dreamy expression.

"What are you two lovely ladies giggling about?" George asked as he sauntered over to them. Alicia blushed and fidgeted nervously. Charlie grinned at her friend's anxiousness. Alicia had had a crush on George since the year before but had been too timid and shy to muster up any courage to ask him to Hogsmeade. Why she was so nervous, Charlie didn't know. Alicia had gorgeous looks and an infectious personality, if not a bit too enthusiastic at times. Plus, George so obviously fancied her back; there really was nothing to be anxious about.

"I, uh, was just telling Charlie my plans for winter break. My family is going to Italy."

"Well as they say, 'When in Rome, do as the Canadians do' or something like that."

"Why is it that you're in Muggle Studies if you don't even try to pay attention?" Charlie asked.

"I need an extra sleep period after History of Magic," he said as he shrugged, as if that were the most obvious answer. "Fred, Lee, and I are going to Zonko's to get some inspiration for our next prank. Do you two want to join us?"

"Yeah, sure!"

"Sorry, I can't."

The two girls replied simultaneously before looking at one another.

"Sorry, I can't," Charlie repeated. "I already made plans with Lizzie and Susan, but you go on, Alicia. You needed to get a Christmas present there for your brother, right?"

She gave a pointed look to Alicia, willing her to accept George's offer. "What? Oh, right. Yeah," Alicia said as comprehension dawned on her.

"Well I better get going. Please don't blow anything up," Charlie said, scooting out of her seat and looking specifically at George as she said this. He put his hands up as if to say, 'what?' and she just shook her head.

Spotting her other two friends walking out the door, Charlie increased her strides until she fell into step next to them.

"Are you guys ready to go to Hogsmeade?" Lizzie and Susan both nodded, and they all headed outside toward the waiting carriages.

As the carriage lurched to a start, Lizzie turned to Charlie and asked, "So what was the big story you needed to tell us?" Charlie recounted the events of the past month, leaving out no details.

When she'd finally finished, she let out a sigh of relief. It was as if a big weight had been lifted off her chest now that her best friends knew. She peaked at them through her lashes and almost laughed at their gaping expressions.

Susan seemed to recover first, blinking rapidly before saying, "And I thought _my _life was complicated. So what are you going to do now?"

"...Nothing? I don't know."

Lizzie seemed to snap out of her stupor and yelled, "Oh Merlin! You don't _know_?! How can you not know?!"

"Just take a deep breath, Lizzie. There isn't a time limit for her to figure these things out," Susan said insightfully.

"I was planning on just pretending the whole thing never happened-"

"But why? Then he might think that you don't fancy him," Lizzie said, to which Susan nodded in agreement.

"I _don't _fancy him. He's an insufferable prat with zero boundaries," Charlie insisted as they stepped out of the carriage and walked toward the Three Broomsticks. "Now let's talk about something else. I'm tired of focusing on my life."

Lizzie talked with her about her break-up with Drew at a table in the farthest corner of the inn while Susan bought three Butterbeers. Charlie rubbed Lizzie's arm soothingly, thinking gratefully that Daniel had never humiliated her the way Drew had. Lizzie brushed off the sympathetic gesture, saying, "I'm fine, really. I actually have a hot date over Christmas Break with Xavier Binks."

Charlie laughed at her friend's suggestive hand gestures and murmured a thank-you to Susan who'd returned with the Butterbeer. Sipping her drink and relishing in the warm feeling it made as it slid down her throat, she immersed herself in the conversation with Lizzie and Susan and was surprised when it was time to return to the castle.

Tightening her scarf more securely around her neck as she stepped out into the snowy lane, Charlie was glad that they'd mended their friendship. It wasn't terribly damaged, but the month of no contact had put some distance between the three, and she was happy that everything had gone back to normal.

* * *

**11 December 1993.**

Whistling a holiday tune as she walked to the Gryffindor common room, Charlie felt inexplicably happy. Maybe it was the fact that there were less than two weeks until Christmas break or it was because she had under her arm a newly rented library book. Either way, she couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

Stepping through the portrait hole, she grinned even wider when she saw her favorite armchair in front of the roaring fire open. Plopping down into the chair and rifling through the pages of her book until she'd found her place, Charlie felt herself being drawn into the story when she heard annoyingly raucous laughter ring out.

She looked up and saw Fred, George, and Lee playing a game of Exploding Snap and proceeded to roll her eyes at their childish antics. Fred caught her stare, much to her chagrin, and ambled over to her. Good mood, vanished.

"Hello, Charlie. How's your day been?"

"It was pleasant until now. Go join your friends, Weasley."

"Why so frigid? We all know you're pining for me," he winked at her and she scoffed loudly.

"I wouldn't be caught dead with you," she said blankly.

"Then why are we standing here right now?" Charlie opened her mouth to protest, but George interrupted her with a yell,

"Oi! Fred! Stop canoodling with Charlie and get back in the game. She'll be there when we're done!"

Charlie's cheeks flushed in embarrassment and she reverted her attention back to the book sitting in her lap. She read through a few sentences when an explosion was heard.

One second, she was staring at the paperback, the next it was in flames.

Letting out a scream, she dropped the burning novel and looked around her for the source of the explosion. Her brown eyes landed on Fred who was staring at her sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck anxiously, and the crowded room grew silent as furious rage boiled inside her.

"YOU!" she screeched, whirling towards him, her hands in fists. "YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER IDIOT! LOOK AT WHAT YOU JUST DID!" She was pounding against his chest now while he stood there silently, only fueling her anger further.

"SAY _SOMETHING_! DON'T JUST STAND THERE LIKE A MORON!"

He finally looked down at her, and Charlie opened her mouth to berate him even more, but before any harsh words made it past her mouth, he crashed his lips to hers.

He poured his own anger and frustration into the rough kiss. Prying her unresponsive lips open with his demanding tongue, he relished in the soft taste of mint and almost smiled as he felt her resolve weakening.

_SMACK!_

Blinking stupidly as he processed the last five seconds, Fred brought a hand up to gingerly touch his now-stinging cheek.

Charlie stepped away from him, chest heaving and eyes blazing. In a deadly calm voice, she said, "Don't you _ever _do that without my permission again," before spinning on her heel and climbing up the stairs of girls' dormitory.

* * *

**20 December 1993.**

Watching the scenery blur as the train began to move, Charlie grinned the tiniest bit since the incident in the Gryffindor common room two weeks before.

Lately, she'd taken to fuming silently and snarling harshly at anyone who dared mention _his _name to her. The only thing that was keeping her sane and stopping her from maiming anyone was the fact that in approximately two hours she'd be Fred-free, at least until January. She smiled at the thought.

"Why won't you just forgive Fred?" Alicia asked, breaking Charlie out of her reverie.

"Because he's an inconsiderate prat who likes taking advantage of others," she snapped, though a guilty feeling tugged at her stomach. Since the fight, Fred had apologized multiple times, on one occasion literally begging for her forgiveness on his knees, but Charlie had pushed past him, deliberately ignoring his pleas.

"I think you would feel better if you just accepted his apology," Angelina said from Alicia's left.

"If I do that, then he'll think that he can just get away with whatever he wants. He needs to work for my forgiveness."

"But he has. You and I both know that," Alicia said exasperatedly, gesturing wildly to punctuate the statement. "Why won't you forgive him, _really_?"

Charlie stiffened. That was the question, wasn't it? Why wouldn't she forgive him? It wasn't to teach him a lesson; she could tell that he'd already been thoroughly chastised. Deep down, she could see exactly why she wasn't ready to give this up, but she had too much pride to admit that to anyone. So she shrugged instead and changed the subject, asking about how quidditch was going.

After two hours of mindless chatter, awkward pauses, and ignoring the obvious tension in the tiny compartment, Charlie was immensely thankful when the Hogwarts Express arrived at King's Cross. Grabbing her things off the shelf and saying goodbye to her friends, she hopped down the steps of the train and stood there on the platform, scanning the crowd for her family.

Someone cleared their throat behind her. Turning around, she looked directly into Fred's blue-eyed gaze. He looked so sad and melancholy, Charlie felt that familiar twisting of guilt in her stomach. "Erm. Hello."

"Hi," he took a deep breath and began to apologize, "I'm really sorry for what I did that night. I know that you're still mad at me, bloody hell if I were you I'd curse myself to Africa, but I can't stand not hav-" She wasn't sure why, maybe it was from Alicia's scolding not two hours earlier or his woeful little speech, but Charlie felt the overwhelming need to stop his sadness.

She threw her arms around him and gave him a tight hug. "I forgive you," she murmured into his chest. They stood there for a moment, neither moving, before she realized how intimate their embrace must look to outsiders. Blushing furiously, she stepped back from him and awkwardly stuck out a hand. "So friends?"

He grinned crookedly at her and shook her outstretched hand. "Unless you decide to accept my invitation to Hogsmeade, of course."

"In your dreams, Weasley." She was about to say more when she was a familiar head of short, bronze-colored, curly hair in the wave of faces.

Letting out a squeal of delight, she ran over to the person, yelling a casual, "See you next year!" to Fred over her shoulder as she left. Dropping her things on the ground, she jumped on the man who gave her an affectionate embrace and kiss on the cheek in return.

Fred turned away from the scene, feeling jealousy wash over him.

_A boyfriend. She has a boyfriend. Just my luck_, he thought bitterly. The likelihood of her ever saying yes to him had dwindled even further. Letting out a dejected sigh, he gave one last glance to her before trudging off to find his family.

"Jack! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Charlie demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"I didn't think I was. Just got in last night, actually. I couldn't wait to see my wittle baby sister, though," He laughed and brought a hand up to mess up her hair, but she darted away in time.

"You have to stop doing that. I'm not a child anymore!"

"You are to me, my ickle baby Charlie-bug." Picking up her bags, he held out an arm for her and said, "Let's get going, shall we?" She nodded and grabbed his arm, stealing a look at the spot where Fred had been.

A moment later, the distinct popping sound rung out as they Apparated home.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much to my precious little reviewers who responded last chapter. You guys were so sweet and warmed my little heart. Next chapter should be up in about a week, probably. I have a lot of homework, but I think I'll be able to find time to write.**

**Anyway, let me know what you think. Am I doing a better job at developing her other relationships? So far the interactions between her friends and her have been the hardest to write so let me know what you thought of them.**


	6. The Fraisers

**Chapter 6.**

**The Fraisers**

**Christmas Break.**

"Charlie!" her mother's voice travelled up the staircase. "Time to get up!"

She groaned and rolled over in her bed. Stuffing her pillow over her ears, she drifted off to sleep again, trying to recapture a lost dream. Fifteen peaceful minutes passed while Charlie snored softly before the door to her room burst open and her mother screeched,

"CHARLOTTE ANASTASIA FRAISER! Come downstairs NOW!"

Charlie gulped from underneath her covers and cautiously opened an eye. Bad idea. Her mother was standing in the doorway, hands on her lips, looking incredibly frustrated.

Sitting up in bed and rubbing sleep from her eyes, she mumbled a "Yes, mum," before changing into her clothes for the day and tramping downstairs. She walked into the kitchen and slumped into a bar stool, letting her forehead rest against the cool tile countertop.

Her mother sat a plate of waffles and bacon in front of her, and Charlie reluctantly lifted her head to eat. "Why did you wake me up so early?" she asked between bites, inwardly wincing at the whiny tone her voice had taken.

"Early? It's already ten o'clock. Do you really want to waste the day away sleeping?"

"It's not wasting the day. Sleeping is very productive I'll have you know." At that moment Charlie's father walked through the archway and planted a kiss on her cheek before refilling his mug with coffee.

"Maggie, leave the girl alone. She's been working hard; she deserves a break every once and a while." Charlie grinned at her father who winked back. "How'd you sleep, Charlie-bug?"

"Wonderfully. I missed my bed. Are we doing anything today?"

"Not unless you want to. We have to clean the house before your cousins and everyone else comes over in a couple days, but I think that can wait until tomorrow," her mother answered.

"Why do they have to come over?" Charlie whined. "All they do is frown and point out how weird and 'freakish' we are."

"Because they're my family, and family sticks together," she answered. "Someday you'll understand how much you need that." Charlie _harrumph_ed but remained silent.

"Good morning everyone!" Jack said as he skipped into the kitchen, his bronze hair glinting in the sunlight streaming in through the window. "I have to go in to muggle London to do some shopping so I'll probably be gone all day."

Charlie hopped off the stool, "I'll come, too! I still need to buy some gifts for my friends."

"My ickle baby sister has friends! I thought I'd never see the day," he teased, wiping away a non-existent tear.

She scowled at him, but he took no notice, grabbing her hand and apparating them before she could open her mouth.

Bracing herself against the uncomfortable sensation of being squeezed through a tight tube, she blinked warily when the feeling abrupty stopped, taking in her surroundings. They were in a shadowy alleyway away from passerby, but she could hear the noise of the traffic and smell the smog that filled the London air.

Jack tugged at her. "I've got to buy a few muggle items here and some things from Diagon Alley before we head home. Anywhere particular you need to go?"

She shook her head. "Not really. How long are you staying for?"

"I have a portkey for Thailand leaving at noon the seventh so I'll probably be the one to see you off at the train station before heading back."

"When will you be coming back?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not sure. We just recently discovered an old temple with hundreds of pieces of treasure, all cursed with ancient magic. It'll be at least until August that I'll have time off again."

Her smile faltered. She knew that her brother loved his job and it was given that as a Curse-Breaker the hours were long and the work was extremely dangerous, but there were many nights that she stayed up worrying about him and missing his presence. Despite the eight-year age gap, Jack and Charlie were extremely close, and she regarded him not only as a brother but as a close friend and mentor, often asking for advice in the letters they wrote to each other while she was away at school and he was working.

He'd been transferred to Thailand two years ago after working deep in the catacombs of Vienna. Since then, his visits had been few in number and were generally brief trips, two or three days at most. The work had been far more dangerous than anything in Austria; the curses were thousands of years old, highly complex, and produced significantly more deadly results when mishandled. She constantly agonized over his well-being, and while seeing him now had partially alleviated her anxiety she knew that the moment he was gone she would be back to late nights and lost sleep wondering if he was okay.

"Don't look so miserable, Charlotte," she looked up at the mention of her full name. "There's two weeks of Christmas holiday, and I don't intend to have you waste that time sitting around and moping. Come on."

She let him drag her around London while he bought muggle clothing and other supplies he deemed useful, the jungles in Thailand were considerably less friendly compared to the suburbs of England he said, before they apparated to Diagon Alley slightly past noon.

"I'm starved. Let's get a bite at the Leaky," Jack said when they'd arrived. They entered the pub and sat in a more secluded corner after giving their order to Tom the bartender. He returned a few minutes later with their orders, and the siblings both happily devoured the meal.

"Have you thought seriously about what you want to do after Hogwarts?" Jack asked as he set his napkin on his plate.

"I'm thinking about being a Healer. I've done well in all the classes needed, and I love working the Hospital Wing with Madame Pomfrey. There's something that's just so .. rewarding about helping others."

"Only you would say something like that," he laughed as he shook his head. "Is everything else going well at school, then? You talked about that red-haired boy. What was his name again?" He paid for their meal, and they stepped back into the snowy street.

"Fred." Charlie blushed despite the cold. In the last letter sent, she'd told him about the annoying ginger and her confusing situation in hopes of finding answers. It had been slightly embarrassing, to put it mildly, to ask for boy advice from her brother, but she couldn't keep secrets from him. "We're fine, I suppose. Not friends but not enemies. Casual acquaintances until he pesters me about Hogsmeade. When he's not acting like a complete prat he's actually quite funny and charming."

Jack grinned, and Charlie mentally slapped herself for what she'd said. 'Funny' and 'charming' were not words that she'd ever associated with Fred before.

"So why'd you ask for my help? Do you fancy him?"

"No! I was actually wondering if you would know how to get him to stop asking me out."

Jack frowned in thought as they walked into Flourish and Blotts. Charlie inhaled the scent of new parchment and ink with a smile on her face. She browsed the shelves and grabbed one or two to read the back cover. After settling on three books - The Adventures of Ace Jones: Curse-Breaker for her brother, Custards, Candy, and Cake for Alicia, and Healing Spells: A Compiled List for herself - Charlie turned back to Jack, waiting for his response.

Slowly he said, "This is just an idea, mind you, but what if you became friends with him? Then he might think of you as a sister, instead. What do you think?"

She crinkled her nose as she thought about his suggestion. It seemed like an ingenious plan, but Charlie felt like she was missing a big, gaping hole. She shrugged off that nagging sense of doubt as she paid for her books. "I like it. It's so simple; there's nothing I can really muck up- Jack! Stop winking at that girl! It looks like you have a tick or something."

Jack paid her no heed as he continued to shamelessly flirt with a cute brunette who was sitting with what appeared to be her grandmum. Charlie rolled her eyes at her brother's antics and dragged him away from the counter. The biggest fault of Jack was his inability to commit and his flirtatious tendencies, and while she could acknowledge that her brother was moderately good-looking and young enough to date around before settling down, she felt that it was her job to keep him somewhat reeled in. It would be much too uncomfortable to go out with him in public, otherwise.

"Why must you ruin my fun, Charlie-bug? It's harmless, really." She watched as the pretty brunette got up to walk towards them.

"Oh, Merlin! She's coming this way. We should leave or hide or something!" she said. It was too late, though. The brunette was already in front of them introducing herself and inviting Jack to a pub before Charlie was able to pull her brother out of the bookstore.

Once again in the cold, she turned to him and snapped, "Wipe that stupid smirk off your face. It makes you look like a git."

He slung an arm over her shoulder as they walked to the Disapparation point. "I'm simply relishing in the freedom of being single. You should try it; it's positively liberating." She laughed and grabbed his arm before feeling the unpleasant sensation of Disapparation, oblivious to a certain red-head who'd noticed her on his way to Sugarplum's Sweets Shop.

Jealousy clawed at him as he watched their closeness. Nothing he would ever say or do would be enough. He would never be able to make her laugh like that, never be able to easily place an arm around her without protest. He briefly contemplated hexing the bronze-haired man, but as he watched her eyes light up he knew that he couldn't do that.

No. It was time to stop pursuing a lost cause. Though it crushed him, he knew that the best thing for her and for himself was to give it up. He breathed out a heartbreaking sigh.

"Fred. Are you okay, mate?" his twin asked.

He blinked rapidly before answering, "Why wouldn't I be?"

George shrugged. "Looked like you'd seen a ghost or something, but I guess I was wrong. Let's hurry up; it's bloody cold out here."

* * *

"I've mopped the floors twice already; I'm pretty sure that Aunt Valerie won't notice a miniscule speck of dust," Charlie said, wiping the sweat from her brow.

For the past three days the Fraiser family had been cleaning every square inch of the house, waiting for her mother's muggle relatives to arrive. This was certainly not how she'd envisioned her holiday going, but it would be like asking for a death wish if she did anything else.

"It has to be perfect. Remember last year, it was a complete disaster," her mum said as she dusted the living room for the fourth time that day. Charlie cringed thinking about the previous Christmas. For the first time in her existence, they'd cleaned only one day instead of the usual four, reasoning that since the cousins never stayed the night before, it would be a complete waste to tidy the upstairs.

They were completely wrong.

Aunt Valerie, Grandma Clarabelle, and the rest of the family had visited, gracing the Frasier household with their usual snide comments and remarks, before announcing that they'd be sleeping over before returning home the next day. Her mother had escorted them up the stairs, forgetting about some of the wizarding items lying around.

"What is this?" Evan, Charlie's younger cousin, had asked while holding up Jack's Nimbus 2000.

Laughing nervously, her mother had answered, "This silly old thing? It's just a broomstick for an old Halloween costume."

Aunt Valerie had opened her mouth to ask more questions, but luckily Grandma Clarabelle had interrupted, saying, "Don't just stand there like bumps on a log; _Move_. My knees are aching something terrible."

Charlie shook her head, trying to concentrate on the job at hand, as the front door slammed, signalling the return of her father.

"Calum, is that you?" her mother called out. "Did you get the parsnips like I asked?"

"I got exactly what you put on the list." Her father crossed the living room, pecking his wife's cheek. "Do you need to take a break? You look tired."

Charlie let out a snort. Of course, mum was tired. She'd spent the last seventy-two hours ordering them about like a drill instructor and cleaning nonstop. Under her hazel eyes were dark circles, most likely caused by lack of sleep, and there appeared to be even more grey in her mostly-blonde hair, no doubt from the added stress.

"No breaks. I have to start cooking prep if I want to be done in time for tomorrow. Charlie? Be a dear and come help me in the kitchen once you finish."

"Sure thing," Charlie mopped the remainder of the floors before walking into the kitchen and washing her hands at the sink. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I need you to start the cookie dough. The supplies should be in there," her mum pointed to the groceries sitting on the counter.

Charlie grabbed a cookbook and leafed through it until she found the correct recipe, then began measuring out her ingredients. Silence filled the room as they worked, and she felt the sudden need to voice a thought that had been knawing at her for quite some time. "Hey mum, was it hard marrying dad?"

"It was difficult, at first, him being a wizard and me being a muggle, but we got through it, and I don't regret one second of it because it gave me you. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking about tomorrow with the family all coming over. I know that they don't really like dad much and they think that Jack and I are a bit freakish so I guess I was wondering if you regret it."

"Love crosses all barriers, remember that Charlie. My family may not understand the witchy quirks that you have, but I hope you know that your dad and I did our best to rause you properly."

"It's too bad that there's that pesky Statute of Secrecy," Charlie joked. "If it weren't there then they'd be able to know how great you really are."

"You flatter me too much," Mrs. Fraiser laughed. "Now tell your dear mum what's been happening at school. An old lady like myself needs a little gossip to liven up the day."

"You don't look a day over twenty-one to me," Mr. Frasier said as he entered the kitchen. Charlie grinned at her father before launching into a recap of the last four months, though she left Fred out of the story.

* * *

**Knock. Knock. Knock.**

"Oh bloody hell, why are they always so early?" Charlie mumbled under her breath as she heard her relatives arrive. Yanking the hairbrush through her curls one last time, she surveyed her appearance in the mirror, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress, before walking down the stairs.

Immediately she was squeezed into a bony hug by her aunt who reeked of expensive perfume and _money_. "How are you?" she asked weakly.

"Splendid, just splendid. Harold and I just got back from Marseille yesterday. The views from the hotel were spectacular," Aunt Valerie answered. Charlie grimaced inwardly at the obvious flaunting but held her tongue.

"Don't just stand in the middle of the doorway! I might fall, and then my hip would be broken."

"Grandma Clarabelle! I missed you," Charlie lied through her teeth, opening her arms to hug the white-haired woman.

"Get away from me with your germs!" she shouted, waving her pink cane around. Charlie winced; she'd forgotten the severity of her grandmother's ornery disposition.

"Hello, Grandma Clarabelle. Would you care to take my arm so that I can escort you to the living room?" her brother appeared from the archway and cocked out an elbow.

"I know what you're trying to do, but don't think that I'll fall for your innocent act, boy," Grandma Clarabelle warned, pointing the cane accusatorially at Jack's chest.

He brushed it away easily and smiled at her. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"CHARLIE! I missed you! How are you?" a girl her age with straight, auburn hair and freckles threw her arms around Charlie.

"Harper! Oh, I missed you, too. I've been good, dead tired, but all together good. How've you been?"

"Just wonderful. When did we see each other? Last Easter? I have so much to tell you. Do you still go to that boarding school in Scotland?"

"Yep; there's so much snow on the ground right now. I'm going to miss the warm weather when I go back."

Harper stared at her incredulously. "Warm weather? _Here_? Blimey, you've gone mental since we met last."

"Of course. All that Scottish air has clearly addled my brain," Charlie laughed. "So is anything interesting happening in your life? New boyfriend, perhaps?"

Harper shoved her with a hand. "I go to an all-girls school, you prat. Nothing interesting ever happens there, except for that one time everyone went on a bra-burning protest, but I digress. Do _you _have any news about love interests?"

"Definitely not. Though I did have a boyfriend for a bit." Charlie grimaced slightly at the thought of Daniel and added, "Complete and utter tosser. Don't really know what I was thinking dating him."

"Girls! Come sit at the table; it's time for dinner!" Mrs. Frasier's voice called out.

"Yes, stop dawdling in the foyer. It's unbecoming for young ladies," Grandma Clarabelle chimed in. Charlie rolled her eyes at the comment as she walked through the dining room door. She took a seat next to Jack who was currently getting scolded by their senile grandmother and began to pile food onto her plate when someone kicked her under the table.

Jerking up, she looked around the room for the culprit, and her gaze fell onto Evan, her younger cousin. He smiled innocently at her, and she narrowed her eyes, "Stop kicking my shins."

"Me? Why would I ever want to harm my favorite cousin?"

She rolled her eyes at his act. "I know you did it."

"You can't prove it," he said smugly before ramming his foot into her leg again.

She let out a yelp, and her fork clattered on her plate as she dropped it. "You little bugge-"

"Charlotte Anastasia! How could you say something like that to your cousin! Apologize immediately," her mother scolded. Charlie tried to protest, but Mrs. Frasier fixed her with an icy stare.

Begrudgingly, she turned back to Evan who was sniffling and holding a hand up to his mouth, trying to keep in the laughter that would alert the adults to his act. "I'm... sorry," Charlie grit her teeth. "I never... meant to... hurt you."

"Oh, that's okay! I forgive you. I could never hate you; I love you too much," Evan said with a false sweetness, getting up out of his chair to hug her. She winced at his strong grip, and his grin grew wider. He let go and returned to his seat while she glared. The adults cooed over the show of affection, and Charlie rubbed her arms gingerly, mentally calculating the hours until her relatives left.

* * *

Dropping down onto her bed exhausted, Charlie removed her dress and tights before slipping under the covers. After spending six hours with her mother's family she was thankful for the silence that filled her bedroom. Apart from Harper, her relatives grated on her every last nerve, and it was difficult to even hold a conversation with Harper without accidentally revealing her being a witch.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It was stressful being away from magic and pretending it didn't exist; it made her feel like she was living a double life, which she kind of was if she was being honest with herself. Luckily there was only a week until she was back on the train bound for Hogwarts again.

_One week_, she chanted to herself. _One week_.

Her eyes closed as she fell asleep, dreaming of moving staircases and talking portraits and pranking redheads.

* * *

"Och - Give yer gran a kiss and lemme look at ye. Ah remember just yesterday when ye were a wee bairn, and now ye've grown into a bonny young lass," Grandmum Frasier stepped through the door, embracing a smiling Charlie.

"Grandmum! I missed you, but where's Granda?"

"He'll be along. Yer granda fergot his reading glasses. He cannae remember where he left them, but dinnae worry, he should be here in aboot twenty or so. Now where can ah find yer mum?"

"Kitchen. She's finishing up the last touches on dinner."

"Oh good; ah could use a nice cuppa," Grandmum Frasier said in her thick Scottish burr.

Charlie laughed slightly, feeling the lightest she had since coming home for holiday. Her father's family had come over to celebrate New Year's Eve with them. She'd always been closer with this side of the family, maybe from the fact that they were all wizards, and she didn't have to watch her words as much.

To be fair, it wasn't her mum's fault that Charlie didn't relate as well to her side of the family. It was only natural to be closer to others like herself, and disregarding the Scottish accent, Grandmum Frasier and Granda were from the same world as she.

"Charlie, lassy! There ye are. Yer gran and ah missed ye terribly."

She turned back to the doorway where her grandfather was smiling. His brown eyes crinkled around the edges in a familiar grin that she'd seen on her father. "Granda!"

She gave him a peck on the cheek after squeezing him into a warm hug. "When d'ye go back to Hogwarts?"

"Four days. Jack's going to be dropping me off; Dad has to work and Mum doesn't like going through the barrier so he'll take me before getting a portkey back to Thailand."

"How're yer classes? Are ye studying fer OWLs yet?"

She shook her head. "I haven't started studying yet, but I will once I get back. And classes are good, a little hard, but nothing to worry about."

"Dinner's ready! Come eat!" Charlie's mother beckoned them.

* * *

"We really must be going home now," Grandmum Frasier said as she gathered up her and Granda's portion of the leftovers from dinner.

"But it's only nine. You have to stay at least until midnight; it's New Year's!" Charlie protested.

"Yer gran is too old to stay up so late," her grandfather winked at her. "We'll see ye over summer. Dinnae look so sad, lass."

Charlie hugged him, saying, "I'm going to miss you," before turning to her grandmother and enveloping her in a similar embrace. Her eyes slightly watered, but she blinked back the tears and smiled as she waved them goodbye from the threshold. They both grinned back as they hobbled down the driveway before Disapparating with a '_pop!_' home.

She stood there for awhile, looking at the empty street dimly lit by a streetlight, before plopping down in the living room and counting down the hours until the New Year. Normally she wouldn't be so melancholy about her grandparents' departure, but Charlie knew that they were nearing the end of their life, and each moment together could be their last. It was a dismal thought, to say the least, but she was being realistic. Signs of their age has become increasingly more obvious, and Charlie had to treasure each minute spent with her grandparents, lest she regret something after they'd passed on.

The chiming of the clock as the little hand reached midnight shook her out of her thoughts, and Charlie was mildly surprised to see so much time had passed. Hopping out of her seat, she wished her parents a 'Happy New Year!' and then sat next to her brother who was swirling his firewhiskey around, looking with a thoughtful expression into the glass.

"Knut for your thoughts?" she asked, taking a seat next to him.

Jack jumped slightly at the sound of her voice before grinning. "I'd say they're worth a lot more than that, a galleon at least."

She shoved him lightly with a hand, and urged him to tell her what was on his mind, but he changed the subject, asking, "What's your resolution for this year?"

"I'm going to try to become friends with Fred," she admitted, embarrassed. "What about you? What have you made your resolution for 1994?"

"I see that you decided to take my advice. I don't really have a goal for myself, maybe find more time to visit you guys, I guess."

"Don't feel guilty," she chided after hearing the regret in his voice. "It's not your fault that you can't see us as much as before. Your passion is exploring catacombs and breaking curses, and you can't do that here. We understand; you don't need to be here 24/7 for us to know you love us."

Jack smiled at her and ruffled her hair, "You're a brilliant witch, you know. Sometimes I forget that I'm the twenty-three year old and you're just an ickle baby fifth year when you spout off all this wisdom."

She blushed at the compliment, not used to her brother's praises, before bidding her family goodnight and falling asleep in her bed.

* * *

Steam rose up in billows around the gleaming red engine of the Hogwarts Express, and the platform bustled with anxious mothers and fathers telling their children to keep in contact and students trying to escape their parents' overprotective grasp.

In the midst of the chaos that always accompanied the return from winter break was a bronze-haired man and his blonde, curly-haired sister.

"Now remember to write me at least once a month," Charlie said.

"I'll do my best. It can take awhile for post to arrive in Thailand, though."

"I don't care. When I come home for summer break, I want to have at least six letters in my possession, okay?"

"Yes, _mother_," Jack replied sarcastically. "You make _me _feel like the one who's going to be getting on that train, which, by the way, leaves in less than five minutes."

"You're such a prat," she said, sticking her tongue out at him immaturely before picking up her bags to load onto the train.

"I try!" Jack called out cheekily. Charlie laughed and rolled her eyes before disappearing from his view and into the Hogwarts Express. She searched for a compartment, narrowly avoiding a collision with a Ravenclaw third year as the train lurched and began to move.

Not even thirty seconds after her almost crash, she collided into a tall form, landing on her arse from the impact. A hand reached down to help her up, and she gradly took it, brushing off her clothes once standing again.

Looking up again, she was surprised to come face-to-face with a familiar set of blue eyes. "Hello, Fred. How were your holidays?" she asked politely, remembering her New Year's resolution.

He blinked down at her for a few moments, before mumbling a short reply and making a hasty retreat. Charlie stood there, shocked at his actions. He'd run from her like she'd had some kind of communicable disease (which she didn't, thank you very much), and his lack of flirtatious replies and invitations to Hogsmeade puzzled Charlie more than she cared to admit.

Her mind could only form one thought as she watched his retreating back move away from herself.

_What in the hell just happened?_

* * *

**A/N: This update took me longer than normal, and for that I'm sorry. The next couple of chapters should be posted faster since Christmas break is about to start for me. **

**Anyway, reviews would be amazing. What do you like? What could be corrected? What do you think might happen? Let me know in the comments below (that was an accidental rhyme, I swear).**


	7. Assumptions & Accusations

**Chapter 7.**

**Assumptions & Accusations**

**14 January 1994.**

How could one person go from worshipping the ground you walked on (Alicia's words, not Charlie's) to actively avoiding you to the point of skiving class on a near-constant basis?

That is what Charlie asked herself in the week she got back from winter holiday.

She'd seen Fred maybe three times in the seven days since classes had resumed, which was a feat in itself considering they were in the same house and shared the exact same timetable.

At mealtimes, he would sit at the opposite end of the Gryffindor table. If he saw her in the corridor, he'd promptly turn on his heel and take an alternate route. He would arrive to classes with only three minutes to spare (if he showed up, that is) and make sure to keep a distance of at least four feet.

Charlie was at her wit's end. Had she done something to him?

It was frustrating, not knowing why he seemed to find her presence so unappetizing now, and though she was loathed to admit it, her pride and self-esteem were slightly wounded by his actions.

She was currently sitting beside Lizzie and Susan, her mind overworking itself trying to figure out the conundrum that was Fred Weasley, as Lizzie rattled off the latest gossip floating around the school.

"And then Dean Figgins tried to break into the Shrieking Shack two nights ago but chickened out after this howl-"

"Do I smell bad?" she blurted out, interrupting Lizzie mid-sentence. Her two friends turned to look at her, both blinking in confusion.

Finally, Susan spoke," ... No? Why?"

Lizzie piped up, "Yeah, you actually smell quite good, like cherry blossoms and fresh soap I suppose," as she sniffed one of Charlie's blonde curls.

Charlie batted her hands away from her hair. "Well, Fred's been avoiding me lately, ever since we got back from winter holidays, and I don't know why. I thought maybe I didn't smell very good or something..." she trailed off.

"So that's why he's been acting all dodgy. I thought maybe he'd gotten involved with a drug cartel," Lizzie commented.

"What?" Susan and Charlie asked simultaneously.

"It made sense in my head," she snapped.

"For a Ravenclaw, you can be highly irrational," Charlie smirked.

"Bugger off. At least I'm not the one secretly pining over her worst enemy."

"I am NOT secretly pining over anyone, much less Fred. You're barmy," Charlie denied.

"I agree with Lizzie," Susan said. "Why do you even care whether he talks to you or not?"

"I-I don't," she stuttered. "It was just a-uh simple question. You two read too much into things." She grabbed her books as the bell rang, "I have DADA next so I'll see you later, bye!"

* * *

"Shield Charm is a term that can be applied to several varieties of charms that create a magical barrier to protect the caster from physical entities and spells. It's a moderately difficult spell, and it would be wise to perfect this charm for there is a high probability that it will be on your OWLs in June," Professor Lupin lectured. "Now, I want you to partner up and practice. Please refrain from using harmful spells; I don't want to send anyone to the Hospital Wing."

Professor Lupin began assigning partners, and the sound of chairs scraping across the floor as students began to move filled the classroom.

"Miss Spinnet and Mr. Jordan."

"Mr. Davies and Miss Johnson."

"Miss Fraiser," Charlie perked up at the sound of her name being called. "and Mr. Weasley."

She watched as Fred's head snapped up from across the room. He looked in utter pain, his face contorted into a sour expression. Charlie felt her confidence take a hit as she took ten paces from Fred and got into a standing position before waiting for further instructions.

"The incantation is protego," Lupin demonstrated the motions with his wand. "You may begin."

Charlie raised her wand in preparation for a jinx that never came. Fred stood there looking at the floor as he played with his wand in his hands. Putting her hands on her hips, she asked, "Are you just going to stand there all day, or are we going to practice?"

He shrugged, which only served to annoy her further. She grit her teeth slightly, biting back the angry retort hanging on the edge of her tongue. If he was going to act difficult, then she would just have to take matters into her own hands. Her DADA grade wasn't going to suffer because of his newfound aversion to her.

"Expelliarmus!"

Fred's wand flew through the air right into her open palm, and he stared at her, his jaw hanging open in shock, before blinking rapidly and lowering his gaze back to the floor.

"Okay, what is wrong with you? You've been avoiding me all week, and you can't even look me in the eye." She paused, waiting for a response, but none was given. "Why are you acting so weird?" she demanded.

"Why are you acting weird?"

"Are you really directing the same exact question back at me?" Charlie asked incredulously. He shrugged again. "Did I do something to you to make you hate me?"

Fred's shoulders stiffened. "I could never... hate you," he said through clenched teeth before grabbing his things and striding out of the classroom, Professor Lupin calling after him and Charlie standing there dumbfounded.

Opening and closing her mouth like a fish, she tried to sort out his answer. He didn't hate her, and yet couldn't stand to even be in the same room as her? She let out a noise of annoyance as she banged her head against the wall. Stupid redheads with their stupid cryptic nonsense and stupid freckles.

* * *

**24 January 1994.**

"Maybe we should take a break."

Charlie glanced at Lee. "We can't stop now. You almost have it, I know it. If you want me to tutor you, you got to put in the effort."

"You're right, you're right," Lee muttered as he ran a hand across his face. "So silencing charms work on animals, right?"

"And people, too. It renders both temporarily mute," she answered, flipping through some books for extra notes on the charm. At the beginning of the year, Lee had approached her about being tutored in Charms, and she'd readily accepted in exchange for immunity from the pranks that he and the twins would no doubt set upon the poor, unsuspecting students and faculty. Unfortunately, Lee had the attention span of a gnat, and it took all of her self-control to not scream the answer at him. It was increasingly clear that she was not meant to be a professor, it would seem.

They worked quietly for a few minutes before Lee sighed. She gave him a questioning look, and he asked, "How are you able to stay so quiet for so long? I feel like I'm suffocating from lack of noise."

She laughed, earning a glare from Madam Pince, and replied, "It's not really that quiet. You just have a natural knack for being loud."

"I think we can be all done for the day. There's only fifteen minutes until curfew, anyway," she continued before thinking of something. "How's... um, Fred doing? I haven't seen him too much these last few days."

More like three weeks, she mentally corrected herself. Not for lack of effort, of course. She'd tried to corner him in the common room, Great Hall, class, everywhere, but he had the alarming ability to seemingly disappear in thin air. It was bloody bothersome. How was she supposed to try and be friends with him if she could never find him?

"He's fine, been getting a lot of detentions for skiving off class or being late. Not really sure why, maybe he's gotten himself a bird," Lee mused, more to himself than her.

"Oh. Erm, right," she said, her stomach tightening unpleasantly. "So same time and place next Wednesday?" He nodded, and she stood up, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. "I'll see you then. Good luck on the charms quiz! You'll be brilliant; I can feel it in my bones!"

Charlie stepped through the portrait hole and spied George, Alicia, and Fred laughing and talking, lounging on plush cushions around the roaring fire.

"Hey, guys!" she said as she made her way over to the group. Fred quickly jumped up as if he'd been jinxed and muttered some excuse before dashing up the steps of the boys' dormitory.

"Isn't obvious about he feels or anything," Charlie sarcastically said under her breath, irked and embarrassed by Fred's reaction to her presence, mentally adding another tally to her failed attempts of conversation with him.

"What do you mean?" Alicia asked.

Charlie blushed. "You heard that?" George and Alicia both nodded. "Well, we agreed on being friends before leaving for the winter holidays, and now he can't even stay in the same room as me. I don't know what I did, but now he hates me. And he says he doesn't hate me, but then why does he flee like I has some communicable disease. And I'm rambing, aren't I?" Alicia shook her head yes, and both girls looked to the red-headed boy sitting between them. If anyone could dissect the thought processes of Fred, it would be his twin.

George had a pensive look and asked, "How do you know?"

"Know what?"

"That he hates you," he prompted.

"Did you see what he just did? He obviously can't stand me anymore. Why else would he always run away when I try to talk to him?"

"Why do you care so much? I mean, you've been wanting him to leave you alone for five years. Aren't you happy that he's finally stopped pestering you?" Alicia questioned.

"Well... I... I-I mean... I don't care.. but, you see... It's-um.." Charlie spluttered, trying to come up with a proper answer. Alicia and George waited in bated breath for her response. Her reply was key in determining so many other answers in this horrible situation their two friends had found themselves in. "I-I have to go," Charlie replied finally, fleeing up the stairs like Fred not even five minutes earlier.

* * *

"Fred, mate. There's a certain curly-haired blonde tearing her hair out trying to figure out why you've gone silent on her," George said as he entered the sixth-year boys' dormitory, watching the drawn scarlet curtains that surrounded his twin's bed stir slightly.

A muffled response came from behind the fabric causing George to grin. "Sorry, didn't catch that. You'll have to speak up."

The curtains were violently pushed to the side, and he was met with an intense blue-eyed stare. "What did she say?" Fred asked.

"She was rambling on about how you're avoiding her and that you hate her -"

"But I don't! I told her that!" Fred protested indignantly. "I've been in love with her since first year!"

"Well now see that's what I was thinking," George said, surprised slightly by his brother's declaration. "What I don't understand, then, is why you are insisting on running away from her when she's trying to be your friend. This would be the closest you'd have gotten to her, Freddy."

"Shehersaboyfren," Fred answered, his face covered by his hands.

"Huh?"

"She. Has. A. Boyfriend," he said slower, each word causing a horrible pang in his chest.

"That's never really stopped you before, though," George pointed out, thoroughly confused.

"Yes, but this time I can't compete. She was with him all winter break. I saw them at the platform and in Diagon Alley. She was so bloody happy. How could I take that away from her? I can't."

George was startled by the somber, hopeless tone of his twin. This wasn't Fred. Fred was happy and energetic and reckless and fun. The man sitting on that bed was sad and melancholic and depressed.

Hoping to lift his brother's mood, George changed the subject to the thing he knew best: pranks. "You know the toilets are looking especially floodable this time of the year. Care to lend a helping hand?"

Fred grinned, previous sullen mood forgotten. "With pleasure, Forge."

* * *

**2 February 1994.**

By the time February rolled in, Charlie was fed up. She'd made no progress as far as Fred was concerned, and homework had begun to pile up as professors prepared them for OWLs.

Sitting at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, half-asleep in her eggs, she decided that enough was enough. Something would have to be done about her situation. So she planned, ignoring the world around her, until she was finally satisfied.

Sitting back in her seat, she felt a smug sense of satisfaction. The plan was brilliant. All she needed was an open broom closet and the target.

Her smile widened as she spotted him leaving the Great Hall. Quickly grabbing her school bag, she jogged out of the room.

"Hey! Fred!" she called out. "Wait up! I have to talk to you!"

He stopped mid step, which surprised her. She'd been expecting a struggle. Oh well, this only made it easier to continue onto next stage of her grand plan. "Did you need something because I really have to get to class-"

Not waiting to hear the end of his excuse, she grabbed his arm and roughly shoved him into the nearest closet, discreetly pocketing his wand. Phase two complete.

"Wha? What are you doing?!" he yelled. "Where is my wand? Let me out of here!"

"No," she calmly replied. "You aren't leaving until you tell me why you're avoiding me."

"You can't make me talk!"

"Stop being so dramatic. All it takes is a few sentences and then you can leave."

"Don't you think that your boyfriend will mind you being in a broom cupboard with another man?" he asked in a scathing tone.

"Just answer the damn que- Wait, what?"

Fred gave her a stony glare. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"But I don't have a boyfriend." Charlie was bewildered by the turn of events. How did they go from asking why he was avoiding her to boyfriends.

"You can't lie; I saw you with him!"

"Why would I lie about having a boyfriend? What purpose would that serve? And even if I did have a boyfriend, which I don't, why would it matter to you?!" Her voice went up an octave as she flushed an angry shade of red.

"Because uh... Because... Um, well... It doesn't," Fred lied.

"You're confusing me. If it didn't matter then why are you making a big deal out of it?!"

"Er - um. Oh bloody hell," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. How could he respond without alienating her friendship and making himself into an arse?

"So this is why you've been avoiding me? Because you thought that I had a boyfriend?" she asked.

"... Yes," he admitted reluctantly.

The anger raging inside of Charlie hit a boiling point. Three weeks. Three fucking weeks of trying to be his friend, of stressing over him, because of a wrong assumption he'd made. She tried to breathe through her nose, count backwards from ten, anything to stop her from shrieking at him to no avail.

"You are a sodding PRAT." She threw his wand back at him and unlocked the cupboard door, throwing it open. A crowd had gathered outside of the tiny closet, and Charlie realized too late that she'd forgotten a silent charm. "Move along, you gits! There's nothing to see here."

Students whispered to themselves as Fred clamored out behind her. Oh great, now they think that we've gotten into some lovers' spat, she thought with a grimace. This grand master plan of hers had failed miserably. Trying to save what was left of her pride remaining, she took off down a corridor, shoving people out of her way.

"Wait - Charlie!"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the slightly longer wait. I had this mostly done on Saturday, but then my iPad broke (fuuuuuuccccck) so it's taken a while to finish it. Anyway, here's the latest chapter. It hasn't really been corrected so please try to ignore mistakes. I'll eventually post a nicer, cleaner version. I just really wanted to update this in time for Christmas.**

**Speaking of Christmas: Merry Christmas, my little pretties, and happy holidays. Next chapter will hopefully be up by next week, maybe sooner, so review, review, review!**


	8. Spilt Butterbeer

**Chapter 8.**

**Spilt Butterbeer**

**2 February 1994.**

_"So this is why you've been avoiding me? Because you thought that I had a boyfriend?" she asked._

_"... Yes," he admitted reluctantly._

_The anger raging inside of Charlie hit a boiling point. Three weeks. Three fucking weeks of trying to be his friend, of stressing over him, because of a wrong assumption he'd made. She tried to breathe through her nose, count backwards from ten, anything to stop her from shrieking at him to no avail._

_Students whispered to themselves as Fred clamored out behind her. _Oh great, now they think that we've gotten into some lovers' spat_, she thought with a grimace. This grand master plan of hers had failed miserably. Trying to save what was left of her pride remaining, she took off down a corridor, shoving people out of her way._

_"Wait - Charlie!"_

She wheeled around at him. "What? What do you want?" she hissed.

Fred faltered at the animosity radiating off of her. If there was a fault to Charlie Fraiser, it was her quick temper and mood swings. It only took a few words to ignite her rage, but once it happened, there was little you could do but wait for it to dissipate. "I-uh.. Can we redo this whole thing over again?"

Her hands were balled up in fists, and her mind was racing with frustration and anger at the wizard in front of her, but she remembered the New Year's resolution she'd made. Her anger wavered, being replaced by feelings of failure. No. She couldn't just give up on her goal. Unclenching her hands and blowing out a breath, Charlie said in a tight voice, "One chance. We'll do one more go at being friends, but if you screw this up, all bets are off."

His eyebrows rose up in surprise before a goofy lopsided grin settled on his face, and she couldn't help but think that this was a bad idea.

He stuck out a hand, which she tentatively shook, and a fledgeling friendship was born that day.

* * *

**5 February 1994.**

"Can you pass the bacon, Fred?" Charlie asked as she slid onto the bench opposite him for breakfast. George, who'd been stuffing his face previously, gaped at her. What was she doing here? Sitting with them? Beingfriendly towards Fred? Charlie grimaced at the half chewed food hanging out of his mouth. "That's attractive," she sarcastically said as she buttered her toast.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" George sputtered.

"Eating. I didn't think that was a crime, was it?" she said coyly, knowing full well what he was really asking.

"Not that. Why are you here? Sitting with us? Being nice to him?" he pointed a thumb at Fred who was trying to hide his grin.

"I wanted to spend time with you lot seeing as Fred and I are friends now," she shrugged.

"That is probably the one thing I'd never thought I'd hear, right after being told about You-Know-Who being found on the back of Quirrell's head," he shuddered at the thought of the twitchy professor from their third year.

"Well get used to it, mate, because she's coming with us to Hogsmeade on Saturday," Fred said.

Charlie arched an eyebrow. "Is that so? I don't remember accepting any invitation."

"Well urgh.. I was meaning to ask you… But I-uh .. must've forgotten.." Fred started to rub the back of his neck anxiously.

"No worries. I'd love to go," she assured him. "What would we be doing there?"

Fred glanced around him before leaning across the table to whisper conspiratorially, "Have you ever heard of an initiation ritual?"

"You're not going to make me drink goblin piss or chicken's blood, are you?" George spewed pumpkin juice from his mouth, spraying some poor second year, as he guffawed loudly.

"That wounds me, Charlie. What kind of sick freak do you think I am?" Fred asked, holding a hand up to his chest.

"Oh shove it. I just don't want to get into any sort of trouble. I know how you two are."

"Us? Trouble? Never," the twins said in perfect unison.

"Besides, is it really breaking rules-" Fred began.

"If no one is around to catch you?" George finished. She rolled her eyes at them but resigned herself to her fate. She knew what she'd been getting herself into when she'd pursued a friendship with the terrible duo.

"Where do we meet?"

* * *

**9 February 1994.**

This was a terrible idea. Horrid, idiotic, dreadful, bad. And yet, even with all the reluctance Charlie felt, here she was, pacing in front of the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor.

She checked the watch on her wrist again. 1:09.

Six minutes until Fred was supposed to show up.

George and Lee had originally planned on going with them, but Lee was busy serving detention with Professor Snape and George had finally worked up the courage to ask Alicia on a date to Three Broomsticks. Charlie smiled to herself, remembering how the normally confident George had blushed and fumbled with his words.

"What're you grinning about?" Fred asked, emerging from some secret passage most likely. She started at the sound of his voice before relaxing again.

"I was just thinking about how embarrassed George looked when he was asking Alicia out yesterday."

Fred laughed, "It took him long enough. Merlin knows he's fancied her since September."

"I suppose you're right. Are we ready to do this?" She asked, gesturing to the statue.

"What? Oh, right. Yeah, of course," he walked up to the stone witch before whispering, "_Dissendium_."

Charlie gasped as the hump sank down to reveal a secret tunnel. Peering down the dark hole, she wondered how many other hidden passages and corridors were concealed behind seemingly normal objects in the centuries-old castle.

"It's a secret passage to Hogsmeade, leads right into the cellar of Honeydukes actually. We'd best get going. It takes an hour to walk there."

"Are you sure this safe?"

"We've used this a million times. Where d'you think we get the butterbeer for the quidditch parties from?"

"Well if you're sure…"

He held out a hand for her after stepping in the the opening, "Do you trust me?"

She hesitated slightly. Did she trust him? They'd gone to school together for the last five years, but she barely knew him. The two choices lay in front of her: follow him down the tunnel and do Merlin-knows-what or run away and forfeit all the effort she'd put into their friendship thus far.

Locking eyes with Fred, Charlie made her decision. "I trust you." Grasping his hand with her own, she let him hoist her down through the dark passage and stumbled blindly behind him as they made their way to Honeydukes, feeling distinctly like Alice chasing after the Rabbit down the rabbit hole.

Those simple words uttered unknowningly altered her destiny completely, and years later, with a newborn child resting in the crook of her arm, she would wonder what would've became of her if she hadn't let go of her doubts in that moment.

* * *

"How much longer?" Charlie asked, stumbling over something in the dark.

Fred didn't answer immediately, and she was worried that she'd made a wrong turn somewhere and lost him in the underground passage until she collided into him. "We're here," he announced before pushing open the cellar door.

He climbed out of the tunnel before offering a hand to pull her up. She gazed in wonderment as her eyes adjusted to the change in surroundings. Light was reflected through the stained glass, creating a kaleidoscope of colors that danced on the wall opposite. Boxes were stacked in the corner of the room, and she could hear the bustle of shoppers outside the door.

"Brilliant, isn't it?" Fred whispered behind her, his breath tickling her ear.

She turned to him and smiled. "This is amazing. What're we going to do now?"

"Each part of your initiation is something created from the intelligent minds that form our esteemed trio. My step was sneaking into Hogsmeade, which we have accomplished, and as an added bonus, we're going to spy on George and Alicia's date."

She blew out a breath. "I thought you would make me doing something that required breaking fifty rules, but this? This is not so bad, actually."

"Ah - yes. But you have already broken a couple just by being here," he pointed out.

"Stop reminding me, it makes me feel like I'm spitting on the Founders' portraits. Anyway, how are we even supposed to get out of here? Won't we be in trouble if the owners catch us in their storeroom?"

"But they won't see us leaving. On my word, we're going to run -"

"And how will that make them not see us?" she interrupted.

"Ye of little faith. They won't see us because I will be providing an ample distraction," he grinned mischieviously, toying with the oak wand in his hands. Charlie opened her mouth to reprimand him for the havoc he would undoubtedly be wreaking in the next five minutes but stopped when he raised a hand to quiet her.

His eyes darted back and forth, carefully timing the perfect moment to strike, when an ingenious idea arose. Still training his eyes on where the owners were at the front, ringing up customers' items, he raised his wand and cast spells on the people browsing the shelves.

One. Two. Three.

Like clockwork, alarmed screeches filled the Honeydukes store as purple spots appeared on peoples' skin and orange hair sprouted in tufts out their ears. "Go," Fred whispered to Charlie before the pair snuck out of the storeroom, effectively dodging the now scrambling owners as they worked to stop the chaos and panic threatening to ensue.

Charlie's heart pumped with adrenaline as they ran out of the shop, her breath coming in halted puffs. Fred pulled her along to an abandoned alleyway before stopping, satisfaction coursing through his veins, while a grin spread over Charlie's flushed face.

"That was incredible! How did you come up with something like that? Oh Merlin, and the hair out of their ears? Wow - my heart is beating a mile a minute, I think," she exclaimed, laughter bubbling out. Her cheeks were rosy from the exercise and her brown eyes filled with mirth as she babbled on about their escape.

Fred watched in amusement and hidden yearning as she gestured wildly to accentuate her points. It was hard to believe that just a few months before she couldn't stand to be in the same room as him, and yet was now only a few feet away. He was glad that they were becoming friends, but it would be a lie to deny that he didn't want more. He brushed his longing away, though, as she smiled at him and told him to lead the way to wherever George and Alicia had wandered off to. No, he wasn't content with only friendship with the curly blonde standing before him, but he was patient enough to wait for her feelings toward him to change before making a move.

* * *

"This date is a disaster," Charlie whispered to Fred as both watched his twin and Alicia in the Three Broomsticks. They'd been there for thirty minutes already, hidden in a shadowy booth in the far right corner quietly observing the couple across the room.

Fred grimaced as George attempted to look suave and take a manly drink of his butterbeer only for the liquid to spill down his jumper. "I'm not sure how much more I can take of this," he said back to her, to which she agreed. Watching their date made Charlie feel like someone was shoving bamboo up her nails, and that was her putting it nicely.

When they'd first gotten there, George and Alicia had already been in Hogsmeade for at least an hour, and an idiot could see that things were already going downhill. Both were avoiding each other's gazes, instead choosing to take long, awkward sips of their drinks, and the conversation was virtually nonexistent. Half an hour later, things hadn't improved but instead deteriorated even further, the date close to unsalvageable.

"This is pathetic. Do you think maybe we should intervene?" Charlie asked, rising out of her seat.

Fred shook his head, and she sat back again, cringing as Alicia fumbled with her napkin, trying to wipe the sticky butterbeer off of George's sweater only to knock her own mug over in the process. Feeling eyes on her, Charlie tore her gaze from the couple to turn to Fred who was watching her with a curious expression. A few moments passed before she broke eye contact and had to look away.

"Stop looking at me like that," she muttered, taking a long sip from the mug she held with her hands.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm some sort of game of wizard's chess. It's weird."

"You've got the wrong brother. Ron's the only one who plays that," he said, grinning. "I much prefer Exploding Snap or a violent game of quidditch."

"Don't think I haven't forgotten you blowing up my book with that ruddy game," she glared at him. "Madame Pince was about ready to throttle me when I turned in a pile of ashes and tried to pass it off as if an owl had gotten to it."

Fred snorted. "I can imagine how that went. 'I'm sorry, Madame Pince. A rogue owl went on a book-burning streak and your treasured library book was caught in the crossfire,'" he said, his voice cracking slightly as he tried to imitate Charlie. His grin widened as she blushed and shoved him with a shoulder.

"You make me sound like some prepubescent boy."

"How do you know you don't sound like that normally?" asked Fred cheekily.

"You're such a git," she said, her tone warm and friendly.

"Only sometimes," he corrected with a smirk. Standing up, he set a few sickles on the table before offering her a hand. Her eyebrow rose as she looked at his extended hand distrustfully. Rolling his eyes, he said, "It's not going to bite you, you know. Now, come on. We still got the Lee's step of your initiation to do."

Charlie took his hand in her own, a distant part of her mind marveling at the contrasting feel of his callused beater hands compared to her slender, dainty fingers, and let him pull her to her feet. Casting one last glance at the awkward couple left behind in the Three Broomsticks, she followed him out into the cold Hogsmeade street, tightening her scarf as she went.

The pair chatted as they walked back to Hogwarts, only stopping once they'd made it to the Quidditch Pitch.

"What are we doing here? I thought we were going back to the castle," she said.

"We still have to finish the next step, though."

"Fine, fine," she shifted impatiently, wanting more than ever to get out of the damn cold. "What are we doing, then?"

"We're going to play a game of Quidditch, of course. Why else would we be here?"

"We don't have any equipment," she pointed out.

"That's because you're going to get it for us," he smirked.

Her eyes widened as she realized what he intended her to do. "You're joking," she blurted out. "If Wood finds out that I broke into the broom shed, he'll rip out my guts and strangle me with them."

"Don't worry, Charlie. I'd stop him if he tried to kill you, which he won't because he's not even going to find out; he's off on a date with some Ravenclaw or writing out plays, I think. Best get a move on in case someone does come, though."

She glared at him for a couple seconds before her shoulders slumped in defeat and she trudged over to the wooden shed. Breaking the lock, she slipped inside and grabbed some supplies before dashing out again quickly. "Here," she said, thrusting the handle of a Comet 260 into his hands.

Grabbing another broom for herself, she threw a leg over but hesitated to kick off, glancing at Fred. He zoomed happily through the air above her, laughing obnoxiously as he took a narrow dive.

"What are you waiting for?" he called over to her.

She chewed her lip. "I'm not a very good flyer."

"You can't be that bad. Now get your arse in gear, Fraiser, and fly up here," Fred demanded.

"No, I mean I can't fly," she admitted, flushing slightly.

His face scrunched up in confusion as he directed his broom to the ground before jumping off. "How can you not know how to fly? We had to take a class in first year, remember?"

"I never passed the class. It was the only class I've ever failed before."

He stood there thoughtfully. "I'll teach you."

"No, I couldn't do that to you. It wouldn't be fair. You probably have so much that you already have to do, and it wouldn't be right for me to take advanta-"

"Let me rephrase that," he interrupted, smirking, "I'm going to teach you. Two hours, every weekend."

Her lower lip jutted out, and she whined like a petulent child, "But that's so long."

"Are you seriously pouting?" He asked incredulously.

"No!"

"You are! Ickle baby Charlie is scared of a teensy wittle broomstick," he said in a sing-song voice.

Stubborn pride flared up within her, and she forcefully grabbed the handle of her broom, kicking a leg over the side again, before shooting up from the ground. Up in the air, dangling slightly over ten feet above the still-snowy grass of the Quidditch Pitch, she was reminded of why she had objected to the lessons before. She was awful.

The broom jerked from under her, causing her to thrash right and then left as it tossed erratically from side to side. Her fingers held the piece of wood in a death grip, slowly turning white, as she tried to regain control of the uncooperative stick.

Wind whipped past her face as she slowly gained speed, racing down the end of the field to meet her inevitable death, when the broom abruptly stopped, pitching her forward. Letting out a shriek as she slid to the handle, Charlie barely managed to keep her firm grip.

Brown eyes wide with terror, she stared down the end of the broom to meet Fred's panicked gaze. He was shouting something at her, but what it was that he was saying she wasn't sure. Like a muggle picture-box -_ a tele-vision_, her inner scholar corrected - turned to mute, his mouth formed words, but no sound was heard.

"I can't hear you!" she told him from her shaky perch above his head.

"I said to shift your weight to your thighs and slowly tilt the handle down. Do you understand?" he asked. Nodding vigorously as one tends to do in a high-stress situation, she leant back and steadied herself for a few moments before tentatively guiding the broom back to the ground.

Stop-go. Stop-go. She descended through the air in short spurts, impatiently brushing away the unruly curls that every so often escaped from behind her ears, before finally reaching land again. She staggered and took a few small steps but found that her legs had turned to jelly and promptly collapsed on the ground.

She laid there for a minute, treasuring the sensation of the cold snow against her face, until feeling Fred frantically roll her to her side. She patiently waited as he examined her body for injuries, sitting up once he appeared finished with his unofficial exam.

"What's the prognosis, Healer Weasley?" joked Charlie, smiling feebly.

"I overestimated your ability. Two hours a week is nowhere near how much training you'll need."

* * *

**A/N: Newest chapter! Charlie and Fred form a friendship - yay! I personally think they're cute together (obviously because I'm the writer), but I want to know what you think. Is this going at a good pace right now for them? Do you like it so far? Hate it? I NEED FEEDBACK!**

**On a side note (sorta), what do you think of the summary written? I'm horrible at writing them, and I want to know if I need to go back to the metaphorical drawing board and write a new summary.**

**Anyway, much love to the readers who did review. Your feedback was very much appreciated and warmed me from the feet up.**


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